1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 The so-called "Classical Sicilian", for lack of a better name. 6.Bc4 The introduction to the Sozin / Velimirovic complex. Other White tries include: 6 Bg5, the Richter-Rauzer; 6 Be2, which can lead into the Boleslavsky after 6 ... e5, the Classical Dragon after 6 ... g6 or the Scheveningen after 6 ... e6; and the eclectic 6 Be3, which invites 6 ... Ng4, but otherwise prepares the move f2-f4. 6...e6 A popular method of sidestepping the Velimirovic is 6 ... Qb6, favored for many years by GM John Fedorowicz.

Then White usually plays 7 Nde2, 7 Nb3 or GM Nick deFirmian's preference, 7 Ndb5. 7.Be3 a6 8.Qe2 The signal move of the Velimirovic attack. White aims to castle queenside and jumpstart his kingside attack with the spike g2-g4-g5. In the Sozin, which the young Bobby Fischer was partial to, White plays 8 O-O with f2-f4 in mind. 8...Qc7 The main line so far. An interesting attempt to dispense with the queen move, by creating d-file congestion, is the immediate 8 ... Na5 (in our game, Kasimdhanov will play this on move 9), as played in Yudasin - Garcia Ilundain, Pamplona 1992. Then 9.Bd3 Be7 (9...b5 10.b4! Nb7 11 O-O was very good for White in Mestrovic - Polugaevsky, Varna 1972; better in this line is the offering 10 ... Nc4, but after 11.Bxc4 bxc4 12.a3! Bb7 13.Bg5, White will again castle kingside with the more active game) 10.0-0-0 0-0?! (Yudasin gives 10...b5 11.g4 b4 12.Na4 perhaps better is 12 Nb1, analogous to the game Hernandez - Adla below] Bd7 13.g5 Ng8 14.b3 as nice for White, which is true, except that I do not see why Black cannot play 13 ... Bxa4 14 gxf6 Bxf6) 11.g4 b5 12.g5 Nd7 13.f4. By comparison to Fedorov - Kasimdhanov, this was good for White, as he has not needed to play the cautionary a2-a3. For example, here 13 ... b4 (Ilundain actually continued 13 ... Nc5!?) would be met by 14.Na4 Nc5 15.Nxc5 dxc5 16.Nb3 and White's kingside pawn storm will come with great effect. 9.0-0-0

White played the un-Velimirovic-like 9 f4 in Conquest - Tukmakov, Iraklion, 1992. After 9 ... Be7 (not so good is the fork trick 9...Nxe4 10.Nxe4 d5 11.Bd3 dxe4 12.Bxe4 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Qxf4 14.Be5!) 10.0-0 O-O 11.a4!? Nxd4 12.Bxd4 e5 13.Be3 Be6!, White's mix of systems has allowed Black to achieve easy equality. 9...Na5 The main line is 9 ... Be7 10 Bb3 (on 10 Rhg1 O-O 11 g4, the fork trick 11 ... Nxe4 12 Nxe4 d5 usefully disrupts White's attack) and only then 10 ... Na5, when the exchange of the knight is assured.

One of the points of 9 ... Na5 instead, is that if White now plays 10 Bb3 looking to transpose to the usual lines, then Black has 10 ... b5 11 g4 Nxb3+ 12 cxb3 Bb7, and the quick hit on e4 forces White to waste time with 13 f3. 10.Bd3 b5 11.a3 Reasonable, although White has a couple of interesting alternatives here. 11 Bg5, a prelude to a piece sacrifice, was tried in Milu - Nevednichy, Bucharest 1994. Play continued 11 ... b4 (although in Rublevsky - Salov, Oviedo 1992, Black did not want any part of this and varied with 11 ... Be7 12.a3 Bd7 13.f4 Nc4 14.Rhf1 Rc8 with a complicated battle in store) 12.Nd5 exd5 13.exd5+ Be7 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Rhe1 Ra7 16.Qh5 Qc5 ANALYSIS DIAGRAM and now White took a misstep with 17.Qh6 (Stoica gives 17.Bf5! Rc7 18.Re2 (not 18 Bxc8? b3!) as good for White) and went down in flames after 17...Qxd5 18.Qxf6 Rg8 19.Bf5 Be6! 20.Nxe6 Qxd1+ 21.Kxd1 Bxf6 0-1. Less impressive in my view is to let Black get the move ... b5-b4 in unhindered. An example is Hernandez - Adla, Capablanca Mem B 1992 which saw 11 g4 b4 12.Nb1 Bb7 13.Nd2 d5 14.f3 Be7 15.Kb1 0-0 16.g5 Nd7 17.h4 Nc5 and Black seems to be ok. 11...Bb7 12.g4 Rc8 Very amusing was Nunn - Sosonko, Thessaloniki, 1984, wherein Sosonko reacted thematically to White's flank attack (g2-g4) with the central blow ... d6-d5, which also acts against g4-g5 because of the pressure applied to the e4 square. However, Black is not well enough developed for this action, and got blown away after 12 ... d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Ndxb5! axb5 15.Bxb5+ Kd8 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Rd3 Nc4 18.Rc3 Bb4 19.Rxc4 dxc4 20.Rd1+ Kc8 21.Rd4 Bd5 22.Rxd5 Bd6 23.Rd4. Judging when ... d6-d5 is good is one of the central questions in Sicilian middlegames.
13.g5 Nd7

14.Rhe1 14 f4 was first played in Hawelko - Inkiov, Warsaw 1987. The critical continuation was 14 ... Nc4! 15.Ndxb5 axb5 16.Nxb5 Qb8 17.Bxc4 Bxe4 18.Rhe1 d5 19.Bd3 Bxd3 20.Qxd3 Be7. After 21.f5 (here Wolff - Inkiov, Saint John, 1988 saw 21.Nd4 0-0 22.f5 Ne5 23.Qb5 Qc7 24.Bf4 with the better game for White, but an obvious improvement in this line is 22 ... Nc5 23 Qb5 Qa8 and Black may develop a strong counterattack) Ne5 22.Qb3 Nc4 23.fxe6 fxe6 24.Kb1 0-0 25.Bc1 Rc6 26.a4 Rf2 Black obtained a very serious initiative for the pawn, which he soon converted into a winning attack.

Fedorov's move, on the other hand, requires Black to use his second knight if he wants to get a knight to c4, and this may cost valuable time. 14...Be7 The next test of this line for Black should certainly involve either 14 ... Ne5 or 14 ... Nb6. 15.Qh5 g6 White's fifteenth was an irritating exploratory mission. The threat was 16 Nxe6, and if 15 ... O-O?, then 16 Nxe6!! fxe6 17 e5 breaks open the path to h7. The conclusion could be 17 ... g6 18 Bxg6 hxg6 19 Qxg6+ Kh8 20 Rd4. 16.Qh6 Ne5 Quite double-edged, but worth considering, was 16 ... Bf8 17 Qh3 Nc5 18 Kb1, although Black has to watch out for potential sacrifices on both e6 and b5. The text move cedes kingside turf in order to generate queenside threats. 17.Qg7 Rf8 18.f4 I like the standard precautionary move 18 Kb1!, as it is hard for Black to strengthen his position. For example, he dare not play 18 ... Kd7?? because of 19 Ndxb5! axb5 20 Qxe5, because 20 ... dxe5 21 Bxb5 is mate! 18...Nec4 19.Bxc4 Nxc4
20.Rd3

20...e5 Kasimdhanov chooses an active defensive plan. It was possible to play positionally with 20 ... Nxe3 followed by 21 ... Qb6, to finally achieve the ... b5-b4 advance, although White's much greater activity and possibilities of mounting an attack on the central files outweigh Black's two bishops against two knights. 21.Nf3 f5 Trying to break down White's grip on the central light squares, while establishing a defensive link along the second rank. On 21 ... Nxe3 22 Rdxe3 exf4 23 R3e2, White stands ready to break open the king file with Nc3-d5.

22.Qxh7 Initiating wild complications. Fedorov was unable to admit that Black stands better by bailing out with 22 gxf6 (the only move to stop the cave-in on the light squares)Bxf6 23 Qxc7 Rxc7. 22...fxe4 23.Qxg6+ Kd8 24.Nxe4 Nxb2 It was time to be materialistic with 24 ... Nxe3! Then after 25 Rc3 Nc4 26 b3 (better than 26 fxe5? Rxf3! 27 Rxf3 Nxe5, or 26 Nxe5 Bxe4! followed by capturing on e5), the position is wildly unclear, although it seems that Black must be in the driver's seat. Temporarily a piece up, he can follow up with 26 ... Rxf4 or 26 ... d5. 25.Rxd6+ Now 25 Rc3 was impossible, as 25 ... Bxe4, chopping off its Defense, would win. But with the text Fedorov enables his queen to finally cover the c2 square! 25...Bxd6 26.Nxd6 White is down the exchange, but Black must give it back, as now 26 ... Rb8 27 Nxe5 would be hopeless. 26...Bxf3 27.Nxc8 Kxc8 28.Kxb2 exf4
29.Bb6

29...Qd7 Material is almost even, but the deciding factor is the wide-open position of Black's king. There would be no point to 29 ... Qc6 30 Re6. 30.Bc5 Rf7 31.Qg8+ Kb7 32.Re8 Rg7 33.Qf8 Rf7 34.Qh8 Rg7 Or 34 ... Rh7 35 Rb8+ Kc6 36 Qe5. 35.g6 Bg4 36.Rb8+ Kc6 37.Qf8

There is nothing to be done about Rb8-b6+.